Control device



March 17, 3%42. p, 5, ussE 2277,006

CONTROL DEVICE Original Filed Nov. 23, 1937 /Z6 5) 7 2; 45 X- 10 j a? 29 j 2 m w INV ENTOR BY I W 4 M UNEED STATES Patented Mar. 17, 1942 CONTROL DEVICE Original application November 23, 1937, Serial orice No. 176,145, now Patent No. 2,230,911, dated February 4, 1941, Divided and this application August 2, 1940, Serial No. 349,997

3 Claims.

My invention relates generally to control devices and more particularly to gravity feed, constant liquid level controls.

It is an object of my invention-to provide a verse to and joins with the side walls 6 and the bottom wall of casing I. The walls 6 and I may terminate below the casing cover 2, and the upper end of the inlet chamber is open, as shown.

The valve member H has a Intermediate its ends the new and improved liquid level control device in 5 The chamber 5 has an inlet passageway I 8, which clogging of a port by foreign matter is preferably through the bottom wall of the casing prevented. I, and screw-threaded into the inlet passage- Another object of my invention is to provide way 8 there is preferably provided a removable a new and improved liquid level control device valve seat member or fitting 9 that projects upin which a valve, controlling a port to maintain :10 wardly within the inlet chamber 5. The bottom a constant liquid level in a chamber, is operated wall of the casing I may be formed with a dein a manner to automatically keep the port free pending hollow boss l0, communicating with the of clogging material. inlet passageway 8, for connection with a con- Another object of my invention is to provide, duit. or pipe (not shown) that may connect the in a device of the above mentioned character, inlet to a-source of supply of liquid. The inlet new and improved valve actuating mechanism passageway 8 preferably extends through an which will, at regular intervals, close the valve upstanding boss H formed integral of the casing with a snap action, and which will operate in bottom wall, and a gasket l2 may be held under this manner and yet maintain a substantially compression between the upper end of the boss constant liquid level or pressure head in a H and an external annular flange l3 of the fitchamber. ting 9 to insure a fluid-tight joint. The fitting 9 The invention consists in the improved-conmay be a tubular shaped, open-ended member struction and combination of parts, to be more having a vertically extending passageway or bore fully described hereinafter and the novelty of M that may have a reduced bore portion l5, which will be particularly pointed out and dispreferably at the lower end of the fitting 9, to tinctly claimed. provide an upwardly facing port and seat It for In the accompanying drawing, to be taken as cooperation with a valve member H. The valve a part of this specification, I have fully and member I! is disposed for vertical reciprocal clearly illustrated my invention, in which movement in the fitting bore 14, and at its lower drawing end the valve member is preferably formed with The figure of the drawing is a view in vertical a conical face l8 for cooperation with the port central cross section of a form of my control 16 to control flow therethrough. The vertical device showing certain of the parts thereof in bore M of the fitting 9 is of slightly larger elevation. diameter than the diameter of the valve member Referring to the drawing by characters of I! to provide an annular space or chamber for reference, the numeral l designates in general a flow of liquid, and opening through the side wall hollow casing that may include a removable top of thefitting 9, within the chamber 5, one or wall or cover 2 which may be held in place by more apertures or bores 20 maybe provided for screws 3 or by other suitable means. The casing the passage of liquid out of the fitting into the I has a relatively large outlet chamber 4 for inlet chamber 5. liquid and a relatively small inlet chamber 5. stem portion 2! which projects upwardly above The inlet chamber 5 may be located at one end the upper end of the fitting 9, and fitted over of the casing I within the outlet chamber 4, and the upper end of the fitting 9 a cap 22 may be may be rectangular in shape as in the present p ov e having an aperture therethlollgh for instance. The inlet chamber 5 is substantially slidably receiving and guiding the valve memrectangular and may be formed by vertical walls ber l1. 6 and I, together with a portion of the side and A float 23 is disposed in the outlet chamber bottom walls of the casing I. Preferably the 4 and is ope ively connected to the valve memwalls 6, only one of which is shown, and which be IT by a level member, esignated in e e al may be termed the side walls of the inlet chamby the numeral 2Q.

ber 5, extend longitudinally of the casing l in spaced, parallel relation with each other and join with the casing side and bottom walls. Preferably the wall 'I which may be termed the end wall of the inlet'ohamber 5, extends translever member 24 may have downturned side flanges 25 out of which may be formed a pair of spaced lever arms 26. The lever arms 26 may straddle or position one on each side of the inlet chamber side walls 6 and have aligning apertures for receiving pins 27 that may be secured in and to the walls 6 for pivotally supporting the lever 24. The lever member 24 may be rigidly secured at one end thereof to the float 23, and the other end of the lever member 24 extends into the inlet chamber for connection with the valve member l1. Intermediate its ,ends the lever member 24 may have an upwardly directed, ofiset V or bent portion 28 to extend upward over the top of wall 1 and down into the chamber 5 and terminating in an end portion 29. The lever member end portion 29 is preferably rounded, as shown, and is received between a pair of spaced shoulders 30, 3| of the valve member stem portion 2| so that as the lever member 24 is pivoted about its fulcrum pins 2! by the float 23 the valve member I! may be vertically moved relative to the seat IS with little or no side thrust. It is also to be understood that the valve member and lever member may be operatively connected in any other suitable manner.

The constant level chamber 4 has an outlet port 32 which is'preferably formed by the upper open end of a hollow boss 33 that may be integral with the bottom wall of the casing I and may project slightly upward within the chamber 4. The upper end of the hollow boss 33 is also provided with a seat for a manually operable valve member 34 that is preferably provided to regulate the rate of flow of liquid from chamber 4. The valve member 34 may have'a beveled or conical shaped face 35 for engaging its seat to close the port 32. Below the conical face 35, the valve member 34 preferably has a lower end portion of reduced diameter, as at 35', that is slidably received and guided in an aperture or bore provided through an internal, transversely extending wall 31 of the boss 33, the wall 3'! preferably being located adjacent the upper end of the boss 33. .Below the transverse wall 31, the boss 33 has a passageway 38 that leads downward through the bottom wall of the casing I, through an external hollow boss 39 which may be threaded for connection to a supply line or conduit (not shown). The valve member 34 preferably has a metering slot 45 in the side wall of the reduced valve member portion 36, and the metering slot 45 may extend longitudinally of the valve member 34. At its upper end, the metering slot 40 preferably terminates at a point such that the entire slot will be below the upper surface of the transverse wall 3? when the valve member 34 is seated, as shown. When the valve member 34 is raised from its seat such that a small portion of the metering slot 40 is above the upper surface of the transverse wall 31, fuel will flow from the chamber 4 through port 32, metering slot 40 into the outlet passageway 38, and the rate of flow of liquid will be governed, or will depend upon how much of the area of the metering slot 49 is above the transverse wall 3'5.

The valve member 34 preferably has a stem portion 4| that extends substantially vertically, and'an upper end portion thereof preferably projects externally of the casing I through the top wall or cover 2. Any suitable mechanism. such for example as a cam and cam follower (not shown), may be provided to obtain gradual rectilinear movement of the valve member 34 to change the rate of flow of liquid, and this mechanism may be enclosed in a housing 42 in the form of a hollow boss that may surround the valve stem portion 4| and be integral with the casing cover 2. An upper end portion of the valve stem portion 4! projects above the housing 42 and secured thereto there may be provided a knob 43 for conveniently rotating the valve member 34. Carried by the knob 43 there may be provided a pointer 44 for cooperation with indicia that may be provided on the casing cover to aid in positioning the valve member 34 to obtain a desired rate of flow of liquid from the chamber 4. Surrounding the valve member 34 within chamber 4 there is preferably provided a helical coil spring 45 having one end abutting an upwardly facing shoulder 46 formed on the valve member 34 and the other end abutting the underside of the housing or boss 42. The spring 45 is under compression acting to move the valve member 34 downwardly or toward closed position.

The chambers 4 and 5 are in communication with each other through a siphon tube 41 having its shorter leg within chamber 5 and its longer leg within chamber 4. The tube 41 has its crosssectional flow area greater than the effective maximum flow area through outlet port 32. The inlet port or passageway I5 is of a size such that when the valve member I7 is in an open position, the rate of inflow to the interior of the casing I will be greater than the rate of outflow through outlet port 32 when the valve member 34 is in wide open position. Furthermore, it is desirable that open position of the valve member ll be had with a relatively small decrease in liquid level in chamber 4 below the line LL.

The device operates to cyclically open and close the valve member I T as follows: When the chamber 4 is empty, or the liquid level therein is below the desired, predetermined, substantially constant level, the float 23 will be in a down position below that shown in the figure so that the valve member I! will be raised from its seat to permit liquid to flow into chamber 5 through passageway 8. The liquid entering the chamber 5 will cause the level therein to rise and when the level therein rises to the level of the line X, liquid will start to overflow through the siphon tube 41 into the chamber 4. Subsequent increase in liquid level in chamber 5 will cause a relatively rapid liquid flow through the tube 4! so that the liquid flow will sweep any air in the tube 41 into the chamber 4 to start the siphonic action of the tube 41. The bore of the tube 4! should be such that the air will easily be swept or purged out to prevent an air lock. For this purpose a tube of from inch to 1 3 inch, inside diameter, was found satisfactory for normal flows encountered in normal installations. The liquid level in chamber 5 will then be rapidly lowered until the liquid level goes below the end of the short leg of tube 47. As the liquid flows into chamber 4, the liquid level therein will be raised and the float 23 will be lifted and will, through its lever member 24, start movement of the valve member I! toward closed position. However, this movement will not affect the rate of flow through passageway 8 until the liquid level in chamber 4 has risen substantially to the desired liquid level at the line LL. Upon the liquid level rising to the line LL, the valve member [1 will be moved to closed position. It may be that a single discharge from the chamber 5 will be insuflicient to raise the level in chamber 4 to the line L'-L, if the level in chamber 4 is still below the level L-L the siphonic action will again be repeated until the level LL in chamber 4 is reached. Normally, however, the level LL will be reached with one siphonic action. As the valve member I! approaches its seat, the rate of inflow of liquid to chamber 5 will be less than the rate of flow through siphon tube 41 and the liquid level in chamber will decrease until the flow through the tube 4'! ceases due, as above described, to the level of the liquid in chamber 5 falling below the end of the short leg of tube 41 and breaking the siphonic action. Normally upon closure of the valve member H, the siphon tube 41 will function to continue the discharge of liquid from chamber 5 into chamber 4, but by reason of the relatively greater size of chamber 4 the volume of liquid siphoned out of chamber 5 will cause only a, slight rise of liquid level above the line LL in chamber 4. This increase of liquid level in chamber 4 will be insuflicient to cause any material variation in the liquid head on the outlet port 32, and the rate of flow through outlet port 32 will therefore remain substantially constant irrespective of this slight change in liquid level. Obviously the maximum rise may be regulated by changing the length of the short leg of tube 41 and/ or the relative size of the chambers 4 and 5. The actual amount of liquid discharged from chamber 5 to chamber 4 may vary each time depending upon the level in chamber 5 when the level LL in chamber 4 is attained. When the liquid levelin chamber 4 drops below the line LL for any reason, such as consumption of the oil or liquid supplied by or from chamber 4, the float member 23 will start to open the valve member ll, but as the liquid in chamber 5 has been lowered to or below the lower end of the shorter leg of the siphon tube 41, no liquid will be fed into the chamber 4. Therefore the valve member ll will be moved toward open position in accordance with the decrease of liquid level in chamber 4, and the operation above described by which the liquid is siphoned from chamber 5 into chamber 4 will be repeated. The lever mechanism interconnecting the valve member I1 and the float member 23, as was stated hereinbefore, is so constructed that full opening of valve member I! will be effected by a very slight decrease of liquid level in chamber 4 below the line LL so that. the inflow of liquid through port [6 is quickly brought to a flow greater than that through outlet port 32 to maintain the change of liquid level between a desired minimum and maximum in chamber 4. This arrangement of the connection between the float 23 and valve member I! permits the difference between minimum and maximum to be maintained as small as possible and insufi'icient to deleteriously affect the flow from the outlet port 32 during supply of liquid in normal operation, which flow may, for all commercial usage, be considered constant for any setting of the valve member 34. By the novel feeding of liquid to the chamber 4, the valve member I! is not held in a throttled position but is cyclically moved to allow rapid flow of liquid through inlet passageway 8 to prevent clogging of the port I6.

Should the syphon tube 4! become inoperative for any reason and fail to empty the chamber 5, as in the normal operation hereinbefore set forth, the liquid level in the chamber 5 will rise and liquid will flow over the walls 6 and 1 into the chamber 4. While such an operation will not include the cycling feature hereinbefore described, the control apparatus will continue to operate in a usable manner. The valve member I! will in such an event act to modulate or throttle the incoming liquid into the casing l in accordance with the rate of outflow through port 32 in a manner similar to that of the prior art.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 176,145, filed November 23, 1937, for Control devices, now Patent No. 2,230,911 granted Feb. 4, 1941.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a constant liquid level control device, a casing having two chambers, one of said chambers having a small liquid surface area relative to the other of said chambers, an inlet passageway opening into said one chamber, an outlet passageway opening from said other chamber, means to siphon liquid from said one chamber into said other chamber, a float member in said other chamber responsive to liquid level therein and operable to maintain a substantially constant liquid level therein, a valve member in said one chamber and controlling said inlet passageway, and means operatively connecting said float member to said valve member, said one chamber liquid area being so related to said other chamber liquid area that one siphonic ac tion will not materially affect the liquid level in said other chamber.

2. In a constant liquid level control device, a casing, Wall means separating said casing internally into a first chamber having a relatively small liquid surface area and a second chamber having a relatively large liquid surface area, said casing having an inlet passageway opening into said first chamber, said casing having an outlet passageway opening from said second chamber, gravity means having a flow capacity greater than the flow capacity of said outlet passageway and operable to transfer liquid from said first chamber into said second chamber, a float member in said second chamber responsive to liquid level therein and operable to maintain a substantially constant liquid level therein, a valve member in said first chamber and controlling said inlet passageway, and means operatively connecting said float member to said valve member, said first chamber having its liquid receiving capacity so related to the liquid receiving capacity of said second chamber that the liquid admitted to said second chamber by said gravity means in any one operation is ineffective to materially change the liquid level in said second chamber.

3. In a constant liquid level control device, a chambered casing having a relatively small chamber with a relatively small liquid surface area and a relatively large chamber with a relatively large liquid surface area, said casing having an inlet passageway opening into said small chamber, said casing having an outlet passageway leading from said large chamber, a U-shaped siphon means having a short leg and a long leg, said short leg being in said small chamber and said long leg being in said large chamber, said siphon means being operable to transfer liquid from said small to said large chamber at a greater rate than the liquid can flow through said outlet passageway, said small chamber having a liquid receiving capacity relative to the liquid receiving capacity of said large chamber such that the liquid admitted to saidlarge chamber by said siphon means at any one operation is ineflective to materially affect the liquid level in said large chamber, a second means for flow of liquid area from said small to said large chamber upon failure of said siphon means, and means for controlling flow of liquid through said inlet passageway and operable to maintain a substantially constant liquid level in said large chamber.

PHILIP s. RUssEL, 

